FISHERIES OF THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC 101 



year upon the coast of Labrador, they found between 200 and 

 300 whaling vessels from the plantations, great part of which 

 were employed fishing for cod and carrying it over to the 



AMERICAN FISHING CRAFT OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 



French ships in Newfoundland; also destroying the fishing 

 works belonging to English fishers, firing the woods and doing 

 every kind of mischief to prevent and discourage English ad- 

 venturers from going to that coast ; also in hunting and 

 plundering the poor Indians on that coast. The King's 

 officers immediately put a stop to all this, and sent them away 

 a-whaling; then our new ship adventurers from Britain, un- 

 der this protection, went to work, and have succeeded beyond 

 expectations, taking amazing quantities of Cod." 



The New Englanders loudly protested against being de- 

 barred from fishing at Labrador. One writes : * ' To me it is 

 amazing that any body of men should attempt to engross it 

 to themselves; it will never prove very profitable to any 

 body of men in England, and must be advantageous to Am- 

 ericans only." 



Additional instructions were sent to Palliser by the Ad- 

 miralty in 1766, telling him "not to interrupt His Majesty's 

 American subjects in fishing, provided they conform to the 

 established rules of fishing." 



In the Schedule of the Fishery for 1767, the number of 



